On September 24, Shell had an Energy Education Day here, where children of all ages learned about science with fun activities, games, talks with people in the industry, tours of the Wiess Energy Hall and a visit from the Energy Hog.

Shell had a conference of new employees at a nearby hotel, so they came a day early to volunteer at HMNS. If you missed all the fun, Shell has a great Web site called Energize Your Future where teachers, parents and students can learn all about energy and do fun activities.

Some of our favorite activities are described below:

Bouncing Glue Balls: (these are so much fun to squish in your hands!)

1. Mix a teaspoon or so of Borax with about 2 cups of water in a container large enough to get your hand down into.

2. Put a drop of food coloring on a plastic spoon.

3. Add white school glue on the spoon until it is full, mix with toothpick until color is distributed.

4. Dip the spoon of glue into the Borax water and stir lightly so the glue does not come off the spoon. The Borax water will react with the outside of the glue and start the chemical reaction.

5. Next, use your hands to pull the glue ball off of the spoon.

6. Dip the glue ball and your hand into the Borax water.

7. Squeeze the glue ball and knead it to expose the interior of the glue ball.

8. Alternate between the Borax water and kneading the glue ball until the ball has started to harden.

9. Roll the glue into a ball. It is ready for bouncing!

A great explanation of the scientific process involved can be found here.

Add a capful of water to the tube. Add 10 drops of food coloring. Divide an Alka-Seltzer tablet into 4 pieces. Drop one piece into the oil & water mixture – watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, screw the soda bottle cap on and seal with duct tape. Be sure the bubbling totally stops. This will take a few minutes and the children love watching the fizz. Turn the test tube slowly back and forth to see your lava lamp flow.

What is happening in the lava lamp?

Oil and water molecules are so attracted to themselves that they do not mix together, even though they will mix with other substances. Oil has a lower density than water so it floats on top. The food coloring only mixes with the water and goes through the oil to reach the water. The alka-seltzer reacts with the colored water to make bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of food colored water and causes them to float to the surface. When the bubbles pop and the carbon dioxide escapes, the blobs sink back to the bottom.

The Energy Hog teaches about conserving energy and not hogging it. He was a big hit with most of the children – some were a little skeptical!

The Energy Hog Web site has some interactive activities, games and lessons to help children learn how to conserve energy. The Shell volunteers had a great time learning from the HMNS docents about each of the halls so they could teach the children about what they see in the Museum.

Keep you eye out on the HMNS Web site for future Energy Education Days at HMNS or contact me at cscoggin@hmns.org to be put on our Energy contact list.